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Date of decision
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17 March 2005
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Case number
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T 0531/03
- 3.4.3
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Application number
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92102006.1
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Title of the application
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Method and apparatus for generating cumulative discount
certificates
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Applicant name
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Catalina Marketing International, Inc.
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Opponent name
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INFOMIL
TESCO STORES LIMITED
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Keywords
Inventive step (no): Treatment of non-technical aspects in the
assessment of inventive step (confirming T 0641/00)
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Catchwords:
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1. In the assessment of inventive step, features relating to a
non-invention within the meaning of Article 52(2) EPC (so-called
"non-technical features") cannot support the presence of
inventive step (reasons, 2.5 and 2.6).
2. An attempt to take into account the contribution of
non-technical and technical aspects on an equal footing in the
assessment of inventive step would not be in conformity with the
EPC, since the presence of inventive step would in such an
approach be attributed to features which are defined in the EPC
as not being an invention (reasons, 2.6).
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